NACA Update

Hello everyone and welcome back to the regular emails from the NACA giving updates on our chess activities. We ended last year off with organizing eleven (11) IM norm tournaments monthly taking December off. This is a feat no other organizer on this continent has dared to do! We’re proud of the players and thankful for the sponsors that helped make this happen. In the last tournament of the year we saw FM Igor Tsyganov capture his 1st IM norm. We also saw 2 IM’s created solely from the tournament series: Mehmed Pasalic and Marc T. Arnold.

We began the new year quietly and held two IM norm tournaments in February and March and a full schedule for the rest of the year. Once again the Holiday Inn North Shore renewed their commitment to the tournament series by providing sponsorship for the playing venue.

Also new this year, we’ve streamlined the website to make it easier to navigate. Our home page is an integrated blog which we are updating daily with new information pertaining to NACA events and events organized by friends of ours like Yury Shulman’s Chess Camp this summer. Shortly we will have an online shopping mart available to purchase chess related items, NACA branded items, and also our USCF approved electronic scoresheet – eNotate.

eNotate, a USCF approved electronic scoresheet

eNotate is a USCF approved electronic scoresheet. It requires a PDA operating the Windows Mobile 5 or 6 operating system. We recommend either the HP IPAQ 1955 series or the Dell Axim x51 series, both of which can be purchased on eBay or other auction sites for between $80-120 USD (used).

eNotate will be available again shortly on the NACA shopping mart located on our website. The current cost is $15 only, but this price will be increasing to $25 effective July 1st. New features are planned for eNotate which will be described on our website.

US G/60 and G/30 National Chess Championships

The US G/60 and US G/30 National Chess Championships are scheduled for August 22 and 23, 2009 at the Holiday Inn North Shore Hotel in Skokie, IL .

Currently the prize funds are $5,000 and $2,500 b/150 fully paid entries per tournament. As the announcement for this week, we will provide a progressive prize fund.

First, once the based on numbers occur, we will have a fully available $5,000 and $2,500 prize fund respectively for the tournaments.

On top of this, 50% of entry fees for fully paid entries 151 – 200 will be returned to the prize fund pool. 75% of entry fees for fully paid entries 201 – 300 will be returned to the prize fund pool. Finally 100% of fully paid entries 301+ will be returned to the prize fund pool.

The progressive funds returned to the prize fund pool will be allocated in the same percentages as the current prizes. In other words, the current prize structure would increase.

So tell your friends, family, and co-workers to come out and play. The more that plays the more that’s returned.

To recap announcements from the past two weeks on the US G/60 and US G/30 :

  • Week 1 – $20 per tournament no prize special entry fee – just play chess!
  • Week 2 – Progressive Prize Fund announcement

Next Monday’s announcement will be huge…. very huge… and the scholastic world should be on the watch for it…….

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call or email.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian
FIDE Arbiter and International Organizer
North American Chess Association

GM/IM Norm Event

I will be departing from my traditional GM/IM norm RR format in August and doing an Open Swiss. While it will be Open, there will be some guidelines on it.

First things first – the dates are August 22 – August 26. The schedule will be 2 rounds per day for 4 days, and then 1 round on the final day. Players will be able to depart in the evening on the final day.

This will be a 9R-SS tournament with title norms available. We will have 4-5 GM’s to ensure as much as possible that norm seekers will meet the required mixture of opponents.

Final details will be available during the 20th NA FIDE Invitational, scheduled to begin April 25, 2009.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian
FIDE Arbiter and International Organizer
North American Chess Association

Official website: http://www.nachess.org/naca/

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